Deployment of a Deep Water Oil Rig

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DEPLOYMENT OF A DEEP WATER OIL RIG

(DEEP WATER HORIZON)

COURSE PROJECT PART I

INTRODUCTION

The deployment of a deep water oil rig comes with several concerns. For critics of offshore oil drilling questions are asked such as, "Is drilling oil wells thousands of feet below the ocean surface simply too dangerous to be allowed at all?" This question comes with the concern of how off shore drilling may cause possible failure and the potentially catastrophic damage that the spill will cause. This is a popular concern, especially after the April 2010 explosion and subsequent fire on the Deepwater Horizon Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit, which was owned and operated by Transocean and drilling for BP in the Macondo Prospect oil field southeast of the Louisiana coast. The explosion killed 11 workers and the injured 16 others. It caused the Deepwater Horizon to burn and sink, and started a massive offshore oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. This environmental disaster is now considered the second largest in U.S. history.

The White House oil spill commission found faults by the companies that led to the spill. They accused BP of working cheaply by making decisions that helped the company save time and money by not performing proper test and ignoring several tests that failed. Even though the actual cause of the disaster was from the failure of a blowout preventer, which was designed to automatically sever the pipe and seal the well, the U.S. Government is faulting the management of Maconda. They feel that this disaster could have been prevented if BP and the other companies would have had better management of decision-making processes, better communication between the companies and contractors and effective training.

The Deepwater Horizon explosion was an example of remote risk that was not taken into consideration because of the unlikely occurrence. Risk exists in every project and need to be identified and understood. BP failed to realize the full risk and environmental impact of a potential disaster. They failed to identify all the potential risk and were not able to quantify such situations. It is known that two of the largest risks in risk management itself are the danger that potential risks are not identified and that the likelihood of a particular situation occurring is vastly underestimated.

Event trees are used to show the patterns of events and consequences that may follow from one or more initiating events. In the case of the Deepwater Horizon an event tree would have been useful because it could have helped BP see the outcome of how a failure to a deep water oil rig could potentially lead to catastrophic explosion, loss of life and environmental safety impact.

I will be considering the possible risk that could occur with the deployment of a deep water oil rig, the same type of the mobile offshore unit that was used at the Deepwater Horizon. The following fault trees illustrate the chain of events that can occur if the initial event happens.

FAULT TREE ONE

The event tree is a useful technique for companies where individual and environment safety is a key factor. Deploying a deep oil water rig will definitely require the analysis of possible risk and the consequences those risks can occur. The proper function of this type of equipment is a key factor. The fact that the machine is a mobile unit that is transported offshore, the possible risk of equipment damage may occur during the loading and transporting of the unit. If the equipment is damaged, this can lead to failure to perform as expected which could cause oil leaks, fire and safety hazard to the environment.

This diagram is a basic chain of events that could possible happen if the oil rig is not properly loaded and transported to its location. The analysis of both safety and resource risk are needed.

FAULT TREE TWO

The proper design of this type of equipment is essential to its success. If the engineers fail to design the unit according to the requirements and regulation to ensure the compliance can also cause major problems. The risk of resource, safety, regulatory and environment must be taken into consideration. It is important for oil rigs to pass various tests before they are allowed to be deployed. Several pressure tests must be performed and ensure the seal strength to prevent high pressure oil and gas from entering the well pipe. The BOP is a failsafe device that is used to control underground pressure that may reach the surface and cause a blowout. The result of a BOP failure is catastrophic and can lead to loss of equipment, environment safety and death.

CONCLUSION

Fault and event trees help with the analysis of the events to help companies make the best decisions based on the outcome and impact that they will have. The trees provide a wide application to any situation where the consequences of an initiating risk event are dependent not only on the event itself, but on the successful operation of safety systems or procedures, often through complex chains of intermediate events. The deployment of a deep water oil rig must not only be engineered and designed properly but also the proper tools must be selected to meet requirements and regulation. The proper sequence of testing must also be performed to ensure the unit is working properly. Once built to specification it must then be installed and transported to its desired location where it is expected to run correctly. The failure of any of the intermediate events can result in an undesirable outcome. Companies need to understand the risk that is possible before deploying such a piece of equipment and also understand the impact this unit can have on not only the individuals running it but also the environment. The likelihood of any piece of that unit's equipment failure should never be underestimated and always identified as potential risk. The cost must be considered for safety methods for this type of project and should never be skipped around.

REFERENES

"Deepwater Horizon: A Timeline of Events". Offshore-Technology (Net Resources International). http://www.offshore-technology.com/features/feature84446/

"Understanding the initial Deepwater Horizon fire". Haz-Mat Management. http://www.hazmatmag.com/issues/story.aspx?aid=1000370689.